Reconfigurable radio frequency communication system

ABSTRACT

A reconfigurable radio frequency communication system. The system includes a receiver subsystem and a signal processing system. The receiver subsystem may be configured to operate in the receiver or transmitter mode of operation. The receiver subsystem may also be configured to handle a plurality of signaling schemes and waveforms. The signal processing system may be tailored with corresponding parameters for performing polar conversion, trellis modulation decoding, and frequency estimation and control.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application claims the benefit of the U.S. Provisional ApplicationsSerial No. 60/064,097 filed Nov. 3, 1997; Ser. No. 60/064,132 filed Nov.3, 1997; and Ser. No. 60/064098 filed Nov. 3, 1997.

This application relates to a field programmable radio frequencycommunications systems in general, and more particularly to a system andmethod for trellis coded modulation (“TCM”).

Descriptions of the various components of the system are contained inco-pending patent applications owned by the assignee hereof and filedconcurrently herewith, specifically: U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/084,714, U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,765, entitled “Reconfigurable RadioSystem Architecture And Method Therefor”; U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/184,716, entitled “A Control System For Controlling theProcessing Data of a First In First Out Memory and Method Therefor”;U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/184,940, entitled “ConfigurableCircuits for Field Programmable Radio Frequency Communications Equipmentand Methods Therefor”; U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 09/184,710,entitled “A System For Accelerating the Reconfiguration of a Transceiverand Method Therefor”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/184,709,entitled “A Field Programmable Radio Frequency Communications EquipmentIncluding A Configurable IF Circuit, And Method Therefore”; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/184,711, entitled “A Field ProgrammableModulator-Demodulator Arrangement For Radio Frequency CommunicationsEquipment, And Method Therefor”; U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/184,708, U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,654, entitled “A Digital Noise BlankerFor Communications Systems and Methods Therefor”; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/184,712, entitled “TCM Revisiting System andMethod”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/184,941, entitled “LeastSquares Phase Fit As Frequency Estimate”; U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/184,715, entitled “Polar Computation of Branch Metrics For TCM”;U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/184,746, U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,487,entitled “Efficient Modified Viterbi Decoder”; each of which isincorporated herein by reference.

In digital phase modulation, the transmission of data is accomplished byshifting of the carrier phase to a specific value for each symboltransmitted; such modulation usually referred to as phase shift keying(“PSK”). In a PSK system, phase shift points can be considered as beinglocated about a 360 degree constellation of points representing a sinewave. The number of data points (branches) used in a PSK system willdepend upon the complexity of data to be transmitted. For example, thePSK system can take the form of a binary PSK with the constellationdivided into two data points, a QPSK with the constellation divided intofour data points, an 8 PSK with the constellation phase divided intoeight branches, a 16 PSK with the constellation divided into 16branches. The 16 PSK system will include 16 data points about theconstellation designated as 0000, 0001, 0010, 0011, etc. As the numberof data points (branches) increase, the complexity of the communicationssystem increases.;

In these types of systems, the data often involves Trellis CodedModulation (TCM). A receiver system for receiving the trellis modulatedsignals often includes a Viterbi algorithm to decode the information. Ina given PSK system only a finite number of sets can be transmitted. TheViterbi algorithm functions to help make a determination of theprobability that the symbol set received was the symbol set transmitted.

In a Trellis Coded Modulation where each symbol is to transmit k bits,some number m of the least significant bits are sent to an encoder whichoutputs m+p bits to map into the waveform which has p possible symbolswhere p=2**k+p. The k−m bits are not encoded. The number of possiblestates that the encoder may have is dependent on the contraint length ofthe code. In a trellis representation of the waveform, the uncoded bitsare represented as parallel paths in the transitions between trellisstates.

For optimum demodulation of TCM, the parallel paths are followed throughthe trellis. This dramatically complicates the decoding of Trellis Codescompared to normal convolutional codes because branch metrics have to becomputed for all the parallel paths, and the best parallel path needs tobe stored for all surviving paths.

The standard way of reducing the complexity is to make a decision on theMSBs immediately and then decode the LSB in light of that decision. Thiseliminates the parallel paths and therefore reduces the complexity ofthe decoding algorithm. FIGS. 1a and 1 b show a trellis with parallelpaths and a trellis without parallel paths respectively.

While reducing the complexity of the decoding algorithm, making animmediate decision on the MSBs also increases the likelihood of an errorfor the MSBs because the effect of the LSBs is to shift the waveformnearer to the decision boundaries of the MSBs. This makes the MSBdecision more susceptible to noise. FIG. 2 illustrates this concept foran 8 PSK system. It can be seen that the distance of the signal from theMSB decision boundary depends on the values of the LSBs. These LSBs thenact as an interferer when deciding the MSBs.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novelmethod and system for reducing the likelihood of errors induced by theLSBs in TCM.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel systemand method for eliminating the parallel paths of a trellis in TCM.

Further, the computation of the trellis branch metrics using textbookapproaches are very intensive and require a great deal of microprocessorcycles.

Therefore, it is yet another object of the present invention to providea novel method and system for processing samples by exploiting theinherent qualities of the form by which they are represented.

In TCM, the decoding of the received signal may be accomplished throughthe use of Viterbi decoders. Prior art Viterbi decoders exist whichimprove performance of a convolutional decoder by 1.5 dB. However, suchdecoders greatly increase the complexity of the algorithm.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a novelmethod and system to reduce the complexity of the processing associatedwith Viterbi decoders without reducing the performance of the algorithm.

Finally, when receiving a signal, a frequency estimate must be made on apure carrier. The effectiveness of the carrier estimate will dictate therequired length of the preamble of a data waveform. The shorter thepreamble the better for applications such as networking. Processingshould be as simple as possible so that the estimate can be done andcorrections made before the data starts.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a novelmethod and system for providing frequency estimation of a carrier.

It is further an object of this invention to provide a novel andimproved radio frequency receiver that includes a simplified arrangementfor providing an estimate of the carrier signal of the received signaland correlate the demodulator to the estimate of the carrier signal.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel and improvedreceiver for receiving and decoding TCM signals.

It is also and object of this invention to provide a novel and improvedradio frequency receiver for reducing the likelihood of errors indecoding received TCM signals.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel and improvedradio frequency receiver for simplified decoding of received TCM signalswithout significant degradation of performance.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel and improvedradio frequency receiver for decoding TCM signals involving a decoderarrangement including simplified polar computations and Viterbidecoding.

These and many other objects and advantages of the present inventionwill be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which theinvention pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings,and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1a illustrates a trellis having parallel paths.

FIG. 1b illustrates a trellis without parallel paths.

FIG. 2 illustrates the MSB decision boundary for a 8 PSK prior artsystem.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a field programmable radio frequencycommunications system, including a configurable digital IF subsystem,that can be field configured to operate in the receiver or transmittermode of operation, the selected signaling scheme or waveform, and tailorthe circuits with corresponding parameters for signal processingincluding polar conversion, trellis modulation decoding, and frequencyestimation and control in the receiver mode of operation.

FIG. 4 is an expanded block diagram of the field configurable radiofrequency communications system of FIG. 3 illustrating theinterconnection of various subsystems.

FIGS. 5A and 5B include a flow diagram explaining the steps involved inconfiguring the field programmable radio frequency communicationssystem.

FIGS. 6A and 6B include an expanded block diagram of the fieldconfigurable radio frequency communications system showinginterconnections between various subsystems when configured in thetransmit mode.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the radio frequency sub-system portion ofthe field configurable radio frequency communications system.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the intermediate frequency (IF) sub-systemportion of the field programmable radio frequency communications systemincluding a demodulation and signal processing system, a modulation andsignal processing system, a baseband signal processing system, and busstructure, that can be configured to provide the Cartesian to polardigital signal conversion.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the field configurable digital IFdemodulator and signal processing circuit of the of the IF sub-systemthe for use in the receive mode of operation including an input forfrequency control.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the field configurable radio frequencycommunication system of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 configured in the PSK receivermode of operation and configured to include the polar computation ofbranch metrics, modified viterbi and TCM revisited algorithms.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the MSB decision boundary for oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 a block diagram illustrating the revisiting algorithmimplemented for one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the full configurable radio frequencycommunications system of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 configured in the receivermode of operation including the least square fit algorithm.

FIG. 14 illustrates a preamble used in estimating the frequency forreceiving a signal.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention finds applicability in programmable digitalprocessor type of radio frequency communications system.

Table of Contents

I. Field Programmable Radio Communications System Description (FIGS.3-8)

II. Receiver Demodulator (FIGS. 8-10)

A. TCM Revisiting Algorithm (FIGS. 10-12)

B. Polar Computation of Branch Metrics (FIG. 10)

C. Modified Viterbi Algorithm (FIG. 10)

D. Least Squares Phase Fit As Frequency Estimate (FIGS. 13-14)

I. Field Programmable Radio Communications System Description

FIG. 3 describes a field programmable radio frequency communicationssystem that can be programmed by a user to form a digital signalprocessing system 10 that is adapted to be coupled to a radio frequencyreceiver and or transmitter subsystem 12 to configure a radio frequencyreceiver and/or transmitter system to operate with any of a plurality ofradio frequency waveforms or signaling schemes, such as, AM, AME, A3E,H3E, J3E, CW, SSB, M-PSK, QAM, ASK, and angular modulation, such as, FM,PM, FSK, CMP, MSK, CPFSK etc. The multi bit digital instructions,commands, and software to configure the digital processing system 10 canbe provided from a remote location or stored in a configurationnon-volatile memory 14. When using the memory 14, instructions are downloaded into the memory 14 from the configuration input circuit 16 underthe control of the configuration control system 18. In response toinstructions provided from the user input circuit 26, the configurationcontrol system 18 (in response to instructions or commands stored in theconfiguration memory 14) connects selected ones of a plurality ofconfigurable digital signal processors (CDSP) 20 and 22, downloads thesoftware program, and configures the digital IF subsystem 24 in areceiver or transmitter mode of operation with the radio frequencysubsystem 12 to function in accordance with the signaling schemeselected by the user. Hence, the arrangement is such that a single pieceof equipment can be, in response to instructions from the user,configured to operate with a radio frequency subsystem 12 as asubstantially universal type of radio frequency communications system,controlled the configurations and software programs inputted directly orloaded into the configuration memory 14.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the configuration control system 18 includes are-programmable processor subsystem A (which, for example, can be thecentral control digital signal processor [BIOP] 28), coupled to theradio configuration download port 16, the re-programmable keyboarddisplay unit (KDU) or computer (CPU) 26, the architecture configurationstorage device (which, for example, can be a large memory 14), and are-configurable hardware element A (which, for example can be thecentral control field programmable field array [CFPGA] 30). The centralcontrol CFPGA 30 is also coupled to a re-programmable processorsubsystem E (which, for example can be the control digital signalprocessor [CDSP] 32), the intermediate frequency (IF) subsystem which isconfigurable as a digital IF modulator or demodulator and configurablebaseband signal processing system (which, for example, can be in theform of an application specific integrated circuit [ASIC] 24), theconfigurable digital signal processor 20 and the configurable digitalsignal processor 22. The IF subsystem 24 is coupled to the radiofrequency subsystem 12 and is configurable to provide modulated IFsignals to a transmitter, or to receive RF signals to be demodulated.

The configurable digital signal processing circuit 20 includes are-programmable processor subsystem B (which, for example can be theauxiliary digital signal processor [ADSP] 34) that is coupled through are-configurable hardware element B (which, for example can be theauxiliary FPGA [AFPGA] 36) to the CFPGA 30. The configurable digitalsignal processing circuit 22 includes a re-programmable processorsubsystem C (which for example can be the voice/data DSP [VDSP] 38) thatis coupled through a re-configurable hardware element C (which forexample can be the voice/data FPGA [VFPGA] 40) to the CFPGA 30. Theconfigurable digital signal processing circuit 22 also includes are-programmable processor subsystem D (which, for example can be thesecurity processor system [SDSP] 42) that is coupled through are-configurable hardware element D (which, for example, can be thesecurity FPGA [SFPGA] 44) to the CFPGA 30. Although the hardwareelements A, B, C, and D are identified as field programmable gate arrays(FPGA), the hardware elements can also include a variety of signalprocessing circuits. Although the digital signal processing system 10includes a specific combination of interconnected re-programmableprocessor subsystems, re-configurable hardware element, architectureconfiguration storage device, and intermediate frequency subsystem, suchelements and equivalents thereof could be used in various otherarrangements and still include the inventive concepts of the digitalsignal processing system.

The BIOP 28 is the main control system which controls the loading of theconfiguration multi bit commands, operating parameters and configurationsoftware from memory 14 (or directly from a remote input) into thevarious subsystems of the digital signal processing system. It alsofunctions as the interface to the user KDU 26 and down load port 16. TheCFPGA 30 is the main interconnect unit involved in configuration of thedigital signal processing system for receiver or transmitter modes ofoperation and to tailor the system 10 for the particular signalingscheme or waveform selected. As the central control element, the CFPGAcan be configured to provide two levels of control, ie the softwarelevel and the circuit (hardware) function processes, command signalflow, and interconnect. The CFPGA 30 can also include a variety ofdigital signal processing circuits, such as, for example, active signalprocessing circuit, (such as, a veterbi decoder, RF AGC, peak sampleregisters, transmit gain, thermal cut back, etc.) as well as providinginter processor communications (such as, reading signals in and out ofthe IF ASIC 24, and assigning control values to various subsystems). Inthe present invention, the CFPGA 30 can also be downloaded to includethe Efficient Modified Viterbi Algorithm 306 of FIG. 10.

All other FPGAs in the system can also be configured to include multibit signal processing circuits. For example, the AFPGA 36 canalternately be downloaded to include the Efficient Modified ViterbiAlgorithm 306 of FIG. 10. The CDSP 32, which functions with the BIOP 28to operate the system once configured, can also be downloaded to includethe Polar Computation of Branch Metrics 300, the Polar Sample Storage302, the Revisiting Algorithm 304 functions of FIG. 10, and the LeastSquare Fit 308 function of FIG. 13. The VDSP 38 can, for example beconfigured to process multi bit digital voice and data samples, orsignals for the selected signaling scheme or waveform. The VDSP 38 canbe programmed to include specific signal processing functions, such as,voice or data compression. The SDSP 42 can be programmed and connectedin the system 10 to provide a special functions, such as, for examplevoice and data encryption. In the present invention, the CDSP 32 canalternately be downloaded to include the Polar Computation of BranchMetrics 300, the Polar Sample Storage 302, the Revisiting Algorithm 304functions of FIG. 10, and the Least Square Fit 308 function of FIG. 13.The IF ASIC 24 can be programmed to be configured to provide thedemodulation function for multi bit digital signals in the receive mode,the modulation function in the transmit mode, and to provide multi bitdigital signal baseband signal processing. The various radioconfigurations are down loaded into the memory 14 from the download port16 (or directly inputted from a remote source) under the control of theBIOP 28. In the present invention, the IF ASIC 24 will be configured inthe receive mode of operation to provide a polar output to the PolarComputation of Branch Metrics 300 arrangement of FIG. 10 and to receivea frequency offset signal from the Least Square Fit 308 arrangement ofFIG. 13 by the frequency offset registers of the wideband NCO 164 ofFIG. 9 or the narrow band NCO 200 of FIG. 8. If configurations areloaded into the memory 14, all the user needs to do is to select thereceiver or transmitter mode of operation, the signaling scheme orwaveform, along with other communications system parameters, push theenter button, and the digital signal processing system 10 willautomatically configure to the desired RF communications system for theuser selected mode of operation. If the configuration is directlyinputted, the system selection instruction are directly inputted.

The flow diagram of FIG. 5 describes the various steps involved inconfiguring the radio frequency communications system. In step 48, theradio operator enters a change of mode of operation in the KDU 26. TheBIOP 28 processes the KDU 26 information and displays text on the KDUscreen (step 50) and determines if the mode requires FPGA changes and/orprocessor software changes (step 52). If not , the radio communicationssystem keeps operating unchanged (step 54). If changes are needed, theBIOP 28 puts the radio communications system in the idle mode (step 56).A determination is made if the CFPGA 30 is to be changed (step 58). Ifso, the BIOP 28 loads the new multi bit commands or code from the memory14 into the CFPGA 30 (step 60). For example, at this time the Efficientmodified Viterbi Algorithm software program of FIG. 10 can be downloadedinto the CFPGA 30. A check is made if the load is complete (steps 62, 63and 64).

If the step 58 determines that a CFPGA 30 changes is not required, orthe new multi bit code is successfully loaded (step 62), then adetermination is made if the CDSP 32 software requires change (step 66).If so, the BIOP 28 loads the new software in the CDSP 32 (step 68) and acheck is made if the load is complete (steps 70, 72 and 74). If the step66 determines that a CDSP 32 change is not required, or the new code issuccessfully loaded (step 70), then a determination is made if the AFPGA36 requires change (step 76). If so, then the BIOP 28 loads the new codein the AFPGA 36 (step 78) and a check is made to verify that the load iscomplete (steps 80, 82 and 84). For example, at this time the PolarComputation of Branch Metrics, Polar Sample Storage, and the RevisitingAlgorithm software programs of FIG. 10 and the Least Square Fit softwareprogram of FIG. 13 can be downloaded into the CDSP 32.

If the step 76 determines that a AFPGA 36 change is not required, or thenew code is successfully loaded (step 80), then a determination is madeif the ADSP 34 requires a software change (step 86, FIG. 5B). If so,then the BIOP 28 loads the new software in the ADSP 34 (step 88) and acheck is made if the load is complete (steps 90, 92 and 94). Forexample, at this time the Polar Computation of Branch Metrics, PolarSample Storage, and the Revisiting Algorithm software programs of FIG.10 and the Least Square Fit software program of FIG. 13 can bedownloaded into the ADSP 34. If the load of step 90 is complete, or nochange is required, then in step 96 the BIOP 28 sends commands to theVDSP 38 and SDSP 42 to configure the DSPs for the new mode and a checkis made to verify that the load is complete (steps 90, 92 and 94). Forexample, at this time the Efficient modified Viterbi Algorithm softwareprogram of FIG. 10 can be downloaded into the AFPGA 36.

At this time the process separates into three branches. In branch B thestep 98 determines if the VFPGA 40 requires a change. If not, step 100initializes the VDSP 38 and step 102 notifies the BIOP 28 that the VDSPis ready. If the VFPGA 40 needs a change, the step 104 has the VDSP 38load new code into the VFPGA 40. The steps 106, 108, and 110 monitor todetermine if the new code load in the VFPGA 40 is complete and allowsthe step 100 to initialize the VDSP 38. In branch C, step 112initializes the SDPS 42 and the step 114 tells the BIOP 28 that the SDSP42 is ready.

In the main branch of the process, in step 116 the BIOP 28 checks thestatus of the VDSP 38 and the SDSP 42. If the step 118 determines thatthe VDSP and/or the SDSP are not ready, the step 120 delays the processuntil the VDSP and the SDSP are ready. Thereafter, the BIOP 28initializes the system. Once the system initialization is complete, inthe step 122 the CDSP 32 initializes the IF ASIC 24. For example, theCartesian to polar converter 206 of FIG. 8 can be configured to providereceived signals in digital form for the Polar Computation of BranchMetrics of FIG. 10, and the IF ASIC can be configured in the receivedmode of operation with the output of the Least Square Fit output of FIG.13 of line DR3 applied to the frequency offset input of the wideband NCO164 receiver demodulator configuration of FIG. 9 or the narrowband NCO200 of FIG. 8. Thereafter, the step 124 indicates the radio frequencycommunications system is now in operation in the new user selected mode.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate the interconnection of the various subsystemsof the digital RF communications system interconnected to operate in acoded transmit mode. All the subsystems are interconnected by a data111, address 113 and control 115 bus. In addition, some subsystems areinterconnected by a serial data bus 117. The DSP type subsystems 28, 32,34, 38 and 42 include signal and control processing arrangementsincluding RAM memory 121 and a digital signal processor DSP 123 ormicroprocessor 119. In addition the DSP type subsystems 28, 32, 34 and38 include input/output devices 109. The SDSP 42 includes encryptiondevices 101. The VFPGA 40 is configured to include a FIFO 105 register,while the SFPGA 44 is configured to include a UART 107. The multi bitsignals to be transmitted are inputted into the VDSP 38, encrypted bythe SDSP 42, and coupled through the SFPGA 44, the VFPGA 40, the CFPGA30, the CDSP 32, the IF ASIC 24 and the radio frequency subsystem 12 inthe transmit mode of transmission via the antenna 11.

FIG. 7 illustrates the receiver section 125 and the transmitter section126 of the radio frequency subsystem 12. The receiver section 125includes a tuner 127, a down converter 128 for converting the radiofrequency modulated signals to intermediate frequency modulated signalsand an analog to digital converter 129 for outputting received IFsignals as multi bit digital samples or signal to the IF ASIC 24. Thetransmitter section 126 includes a digital to analog converter 130 forconverting multi bit digital IF modulated samples or signals receivedfrom the IF ASIC 24 into analog form. The analog signals are applied toan up converter 131 for converting the IF modulated analog signals to RFmodulated analog signals which are amplified by a power amplifier stage132 and applied to the antenna 11 via a coupler circuit 133.

The IF subsystem 24 is embodied in a semiconductor chip in the form ofan application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to provide in fieldprogrammable semiconductor hardware the multi bit digital demodulation,modulation and signal processing functions for transceivers, capable ofbeing configured into digital receiver or transmitter modes ofoperation, and employing various types of selected signaling schemes orwaveforms, and configured to select operating parameters for the variouscircuits therein to conform to the selected mode of operation. Theadvantage of processor configurable functions created in the hardware ofan ASIC, rather than totally in software, is that the configurablehardware of the ASIC requires less physical space and consumes lesspower than software running on general purpose processors running DSPalgorithms. This is because the configurable ASIC hardware can bedesigned to be optimized in its performance.

The IF ASIC 24 can be the flat pack manufactured by Gray ChipElectronics. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the IF ASIC 24 includes a frontend portion 134, a backend portion 135, control registers 136, a busmanager 137, and an interface 138. The front end portion 134 includes aplurality of circuits, responsive to digital commands, that can beselected and interconnected, along setting operating parameters, as aconfigured multi bit digital IF modulator and signal processing circuit152 for use in the transmit mode of operation, and as a configured multibit digital IF demodulator circuit and signal processing circuit 150 foruse in the receive mode of operation.

The IF ASIC 24 has several multi bit digital baseband signal processingcircuits included in the backend portion 135, that can be configured invarious ways, for processing the baseband signal input in multi bitdigital form to the configured IF modulator 152 in the transmit mode,and for processing the baseband output signals in the multi bit digitalform from the configured IF demodulator 150 in the receive mode,depending type of signaling scheme or waveform selected by the user. Thevarious circuits of the IF ASIC 24 are configurable by multi bit digitalcommands from the control registers 136 or directly from the memory 14.The digital commands in the control registers 136 are down loaded fromthe configuration memory 14 when the digital communications system isconfigured.

In the configured transmitter mode of operation, the IF ASIC 24 receivesmulti bit digital signals or samples to be transmitted via the FIFO 204.Digitally modulated carrier based (IF) output signals from the IF ASIC24 are outputted to the radio frequency subsystem 12. In the configuredreceiver mode of operation, the IF ASIC 24 receives carrier based (IF)modulated multi bit digital signals or samples from the radio frequencysubsystem 12 and outputted via the FIFO 204. The back end portion 135includes a narrow band NCO and mixer 200, a re-sampler circuit 202including a polyphase re-sampler and a re-sampling NCO, a FIFO register204 having primary and secondary portions, and a cartesian to polarconversion circuit 206, all of which are connected to the bus 139. TheCartesian to polar conversion circuit 206, in the present invention, isto be configured by commands to provide a polar output to the PolarComputation of Branch Metrics arrangement on the line of FIG. 10.

The IF ASIC 24 may, for example, accept 16 bit input samples at rates upto 5 MSPS in the receive mode and generate 16 bit output samples atrates up to 5 MSPS in the transmit mode. The minimum sample rate may,for example, be 100 KSPS. The IF ASIC 24 is register based to allowaccess to the individual signal processing blocks in that all thevarious configurable circuits are connected to receive multi bitcommands from the control registers 136

By field programmable, it is meant that the configuration of the IF ASIC24 can be modified by the user at any time, not only as a transmitter orreceiver, but also as to the type of signaling scheme or waveforminvolved and the parameters by which the signals are processed. The IFASIC 24 is able to be configured to provide signal schemes or waveforms,such as, but not limited to, complex demodulation (quadrature IF downconversion); data rate decimation to reduce the IF sample; narrowbandfiltering; AM, AME, A3E, H3E, J3E, CW, SSB, M-PSK, QAM, ASK, and angularmodulation, such as, FM, PM, FSK, CMP, MSK, CPFSK etc., symbolre-timing; and impulse noise blanking (to reduce impulsive noise),complex modulation (data rate interpolation to raise narrowband samplerate to the IF sample rate); IF carrier generation to place the IFanywhere within half the wideband sample rate; such as for SSB, CW,2ISB, AME, FM, QAM, AM, M-ary PSK etc.; data shaping and narrowbandfilters to spectrally limit the IF modulation; and linear sampled datagain scale control (GSC). The IF ASIC 24 can provide multiple output forvarious signal schemes or waveforms, such as, I and Q and phase andmagnitude.

II. Receiver Demodulator

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the IF ASIC 24 includes the variousconfigurable circuits configured for use in the receiver mode ofoperation for the above mentioned signal signaling schemes or waveforms,as selected by the user. The configured receiver demodulator and signalprocessing circuit 150 illustrated in FIG. 9 includes a multi bitdigital signal path consisting of an analog to digital converterinterface 154, a gain scale control 156, an interpolator circuit 157, animpulse blanker 158, a mixer circuit 159 including a wideband inphaseand quadrature mixers 160I and 160Q, a wideband numerical controlledoscillator (NCO) 164 (including a offset frequency and phase shiftcontrol circuit 165 and a numerical controlled oscillator [NCO] 167) andalso inphase and quadrature signal processing circuits each including anup-down sampler and filter circuit 169 which includes a CIC decimationcircuit 170I or 170Q, a compensating filter 172I or 172Q, a programmablefilter 174I or 174Q and a gain circuit 176I or 176Q, respectively. Themulti bit digital outputs of the PFIR circuits 174I and 174Q areconnected to the backend bus 139 via the IF gain circuits 179I and 179Q.In accordance with the invention, the receiver demodulator is configuredso that the output of the IF gain circuits 179I and 179Q are applied tothe backend bus 139 of FIG. 8. The Cartesian to polar converter 206 andthe FIFO 204 are configured so that the outputs form the IF gaincircuits are converted to polar form are applied via line DR1 to thePolar Computation of Branch Metrics of FIG. 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the field configurable radio frequencyreceiver may also be configured to include the polar computation ofbranch metrics 300, modified viterbi algorithm 306, and TCM revisitingalgorithm 304.

A. TCM Revisiting Algorithm

The TCM revisiting algorithm 304, downloadable to be resident within theCDSP 32 (or ADSP 34), removes the need to follow parallel paths in thedecoder thus significantly reducing the decoder complexity generallyassociated with TCM.

As previously mentioned, Trellis Coded Modulation creates a trellis withparallel paths. Decoding operations which follow these paths grow incomplexity. The prior art reduces complexity by making a hard decisionon the uncoded bits of the modulation before entering the decoder sothat the parallel paths do not need to be followed. The problem withthis approach is that the effect of the coded bits is to cause shifts inthe signal that are apparently random for the uncoded bits reference.This reduces the minimum distance of the upper bits and therefore makesthem more prone to error.

The revisiting algorithm simplifies the trellis to one without parallelpaths by computing the best metric for all of the states of the trellisdirectly before entering the decoding algorithm. The decode can proceedwithout the added complication of the parallel paths with the exceptionthat both the symbol and parity of the decoded symbol must be returned.These two least significant bits are now of high confidence after thedecoding process. From the reference of the uncoded bits and making adecision on them, the LSBs act as an interferer would to the waveform.In this case, provided the decode is correct, the interferer is exactlyknown and its effect on the waveform can be removed. FIG. 11 illustratesthe 8 PSK example of FIG. 2 after the effects of the LSB have beenremoved through revisiting.

After the effect of the LSBs is removed, the uncoded bits can be decidedwithout loss of performance. This requires a delay buffer having a delayequal to the delay of the decoding algorithm so that the original signalsamples can be matched up to the LSBs for cancellation of the effects ofthe LSB. FIG. 12 illustrates the algorithm used for one embodiment ofthe present invention. In this embodiment, the Viterbi algorithm is usedas the decoder, but any decoder would suffice. The performance of therevisiting algorithm is equivalent to following the parallel paththrough the decoder and only slightly more complicated than making theimmediate decisions on the LSBS.

More specifically, a proprietary algorithm is used for decoding thetrellis code in a way that does not require following the parallel pathsthrough the trellis but does not suffer from the performance degradationthat results from making a decision on the most significant bitsindependently of the LSBS. Consider the following rule for creating thephase difference from the four bits. The bit values in this case are 0and 1. $\begin{matrix}{{\Delta\varphi} = {{{bit}\quad {3 \cdot \pi}} + {{{bit}2} \cdot \frac{\pi}{2}} + {{{bit}1} \cdot \frac{\pi}{4}} + {{{bit}0} \cdot \frac{\pi}{8}}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

The first bit performs a binary modulation when the three LSBs are zero.The first two bits performs a quadrature modulation when the two LSBsare zero and so on. Each successive bit operates as a subchannel to theone above it in the space between the values of the upper channel. Butbecause the lower bits shift the phase value of the total symbol, theyreduce the minimum Euclidean distance of the upper channel. Withreference again to FIG. 2, illustrating the effect for an 8 PSKconstellation, a zero in the MSB position can map onto a symbol in anyof four positions which vary in distance from the decision boundary andnone of which are maximally distance from that boundary for the givensignal energy. In light of this the subchannels created by the LSBs maybe viewed as interferers to the upper channels. If the values of theLSBs are known, the interferers could be removed from the upper channelsmoving them to a maximum distance from the decision boundary, asillustrated previously in FIG. 11, to be decided with no loss ofperformance.

This is the principle of the revisiting algorithm. In the 16-ary case,metrics are computed for the two LSBs only, by taking the value thereceived Δφ modulo π/2 and using this value to compute the branchmetrics for the Viterbi decoding operation.

This removes the parallel paths from the decoder, removing a great dealof complexity from the decoder. The original Δφ values are stored in abuffer equal to the decoding constraint length of the Viterbi algorithm.When the LSBs are returned with a high confidence the value$\begin{matrix}{{\Delta\varphi}^{\prime} = {{\Delta\varphi} - ( {{{bit1} \cdot \frac{\pi}{4}} + {{bit0} \cdot \frac{\pi}{8}}} )}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

is computed which can be readily seen to be $\begin{matrix}{{\Delta\varphi}^{\prime} = {{{bit3} \cdot \pi} + {{bit2} \cdot \frac{\pi}{2}}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

The effect of the interfering LSBs has been removed and bits 2 and 3 cannow be decided optimally.

B. Polar Computation of Branch Metrics for TCM

While rectangular coordinates may be used in calculating the branchmetrics, a preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes polarcoordinates. With reference again to FIG. 10, these calculations areimplemented within the CDSP 32 (or ADSP 34) by the Polar Computation ofBranch Metrics 300.

Generally, the optimum metric for computing the branch metric forViterbi decoding algorithm in additive white Gaussian channel is givenby:

|x_(n)−Y_(i)|²  (4)

where x_(n) is the nth complex received signal sample and y_(i) is ithcomplex transmit signal constellation point. This metric is computed forall the possible transmit signal constellation points. So, in a 16-PSKmodulation there will be 16 possible transmit signal constellation pointrequiring 16 values of the metric need to be computed for each receivedsignal sample. Further, these calculations are floating point complexnumber operations.

If samples are taken in the in polar co-ordinate system, then:

x_(n)=R_(n)e^(jf) _(n)  (5)

where R_(n) is the amplitude of the received signal sample and f_(n) isthe phase of the received signal sample. Similarly the phasor equationcan be written for y_(i) which will have unit amplitude. It has beenfound by simulation that e^(jf) _(n) can be approximated as f_(n)without performance loss of the Viterbi algorithm if the constellationis collapsed from 16 to 4 points which may be accomplished by encodingonly the 2 LSBs. Thus (4) above is reduced to:

|R_(n) f_(n)−f_(i)|²  (6)

where f_(i) is the collapsed ith fixed point transmit signalconstellation point. For 16-PSK modulation this accordingly reduces thenumber of metric computations from 16 to 4. Further, the floating pointcomplex number multiplication in (4) is reduced to fixed point realnumber multiplication in (6). For an AWGN channel the multiplicationR_(n) f_(n) can be approximated by f_(n) with very slight degradation inthe Viterbi decoding algorithm reducing (3) further for the case of AWGNchannel to:

|f_(n)−f_(i)|²  (7)

Thus (7) can be used for computing the branch metric for the Viterbidecoding algorithm instead of (4) without any appreciable loss in theperformance of the algorithm. The equation (7) is much simpler toimplement then (4). The reduction in complexity from (4) to (7) isdemonstrated in that the number of metric computation is reduced from 16to 4 for each received signal sample and two multiplication operationsare reduced to one multiplication operation.

Equation (6) will be more appropriate for computation of branch metricin a fading channel. Even in that case, (6) is more efficient than (4)as the metric computation is reduced from 16 to 4 for each receivedsignal sample.

The constellation has to be collapsed from 16 to 4 in order for theapproximation e^(jf) _(n) to be equal to f_(n). This also reduces thenumber of branch metric computations. Also it helps to preserve the softdecision information necessary for the trellis revisiting concept. Thishas been achieved by exploiting the fact that the fixed point value ofthe phase samples is in a form where one full circle equals 2^(n). Thisfact allows simple masking operation to be used for collapsing theconstellation from 16 to 4 instead of using complex modulo arithmetic.

C. Modified Viterbi Algorithm

While any decoder would suffice to implement the TCM revisitingalgorithm, one embodiment of the present invention uses a modifiedViterbi algorithm that yields 1.5 dB performance advantage for thenon-coherent systems [See equation 8]. As illustrated in FIG. 10, themodified Viterbi algorithm 306 is resident within the CFPGA 30 (or AFPGA36). For this modified Viterbi algorithm the branch metric computationis given by following equation:

|e^(jDf) _(n)−e^(jDf) _(i)|²+|e^(jDf) _(n)e^(jDf) _(n−1)−e^(jDf)_(i)e^(jDf) _(i−1)|²+|e^(jDf) _(n)e^(jDf) _(n−1)e^(jDf) _(n−2)−e^(jDf)_(i)e^(jDf) _(i−1)e^(jDf) _(i−2)|²  (8)

where Df_(n), Df_(n−1), and Df_(n−2) are the differential phase samplesreceived in time t, t−1, and t−2 respectively. Df_(i), Df_(i−1), andDf_(i−2) are the differential phase corresponding to the differentialphase of the transmit signal constellation point at the time instant t,t−1 and t−2.

The metric in (8) has to be computed for all the possible combinationsof Df_(i), Df_(i−1), and Df_(i−2). Thus if 16-PSK modulation is beingused then there are 16 different values possible for each differentialphase. Thus the third term in (8) can have 16*16*16=4096 differentvalues. Thus (8) has to be computed for 4096 different values of Df_(i),Df_(i−1), and Df_(i−2) each time a sample is received.

By using the approach of the polar computation of branch metric (8) canbe reduced to:

|Df_(n)−Df_(i)|²+|Df_(n)+Df_(n−1)−Df_(i)−Df_(i−1)|²+|Df_(n)+Df_(n−1)+Df_(n−2)−Df_(i)−Df_(i−1)−Df_(i−2)|²  (9)

In (9) the reference differential phase for 16-PSK TCM can take only 4different values. Thus the number of metric computation reduces from4096 to 4*4*4=64 for each of the received samples. This is still toomuch computation.

In one embodiment of the present invention, instead of computing thebranch metric given by (9) the following metrics were computed:

|f_(n)−f_(n−1)−Df|²  (10)

|f_(n)−f_(n−2)−Df|²  (11)

|f_(n)−f_(n−3)−Df|²  (12)

where Df is the reference signal differential phase for this case canhave 4 different values. Thus the number of metric computation is nowreduced to 12 as compared to 64 by (9) and 4096 by (8).

In order to make use of these branch metric values some additional onetime computations need to be performed. In one embodiment theseadditional computations result in the generation of two tables. Thefirst table contains the current symbol and the previous symbol in thetrellis which are needed to bring the trellis to the given state. Thesecond table contains the current symbol, the previous symbol and symbolprevious to the previous symbol which are necessary to bring the trellisto the given state.

The symbol information contained within these tables is indexed into theappropriate branch metric values computed by (10), (11) and (12) and thepath metric for the Viterbi algorithm is computed. The generation ofthese tables is a one time operation and once these tables are generatedthey are fixed for a given code. As the information in these tables isused as an index to the appropriate branch metric there is nocomputation involved in getting the actual index.

Thus by using these tables the branch metric computation can be reducedsignificantly, from 4096 to 12, can be easily implemented on a fixedpoint DSP. The tables can be generated and stored in the ROM, a one timeoperation, before the execution of the decoding algorithm.

Even though in the above the advantage of the look-up table approach hasbeen explained for the branch metric computed in polar form, thisapproach can be used equally effectively even if the branch metric is inrectangular form. In fact, this look-up table approach is completelyindependent of how the branch metric is computed. The look-up tables areused to compute the path metric for the modified Viterbi algorithm.These look-up tables contain information regarding the current symbol,previous symbol and previous to previous symbol which can bring thetrellis to the given state. So continuing with the example of 16 PSK ,the received signal samples can be mapped in the first quadrant of thecircle therby effectively collapsing the constellation from 16 point to4 point. Then the branch metric equations are given by:

|x_(n)x_(n−1)*−y_(i)|²  (13)

|x_(n)x_(n−2)*−y_(i)|²  (14)

|x_(n)x_(n−3)*−y_(i)|²  (15)

Here x_(n), x_(n−1), x_(n−2) are the nth, (n−1)th, and (n−2)th complexreceived signal samples. yi is the complex differential transmit signalconstellation point. Now, the symbol information given by the tables canbe index into the appropriate branch metric and the path metric can becomputed. Thus using these look-up tables the path metric required bythe Viterbi algorithm can be computed by using either polar orrectangular form of branch metric, in a very efficient manner.

Least Squares Phase Fit As Frequency Estimate

As illustrated in FIG. 13, in one embodiment of the present invention,the field configurable radio frequency receiver may also be configuredto include a least square fit algorithm 308 resident within the CDSP 32(or the ADSP 34) for estimating the frequency when receiving a signal.

FIG. 14 illustrates a preamble which consists of a 31 symbol lengthMaximal Length Sequence (MLS) at a 16 kbps rate, FM modulated with a 5kHz deviation followed by a period of pure carrier at the centerfrequency. The Maximal Length Sequence is:−1,1,−1,1,1,1,−1,1,1,−1,−1,−1,1,1,1,1,1,−1,−1,1,1,−1,1,−1,−1,1,−1,−1,−1,−1,1. The MLS is used for both signal presence and symboltiming acquisition. In this case, the radio frequency communicationsystem of FIGS. 3 and 4 and the receiver demodulator of FIG. 9 will beconfigured for the FM mode of operation. The choice of an FM modulatedwaveform was made for the following reasons. An FM discriminatoroperates well over the usable range of the 64 kbps waveform. It willtherefore be able to receive the preamble whenever the signal is goodenough to support 64 kbps. An FM discriminator does not require carrierphase or frequency information in order to demodulate. Therefore signalpresence can be simply detected without the need to estimate thewaveform parameters at the same time. The simpler the detectionalgorithm, the less power the receiver will take when in standby mode.This is important for battery operated tactical receivers. A simpledetection algorithm also allows the radio to search for the waveformwhile it is able to receive FM voice. This allows for a mode that canreceive either voice or data transmissions without operatorintervention. When FM squelch is broken by something other than thewaveform, the radio reverts to pure FM mode. When the MLS is detected,the FM mode is dropped until the TCM mode determines end of message. Todetect signal presence on the 64 kbps waveform correlations are run eachsample against the maximal length sequence in binary antipodal form.Every fourth sample is used in the correlation. The result of thecorrelation is squared and stored. The squared signal is put into arunning summer of the same length as the MLS. Presence is decidedaccording to the following rule:

If ((E−A×S)<0) Waveform present

else Waveform not present.

where E is the Sum Square Energy of the Signal Plus noise (i.e., theoutput of the running summer), S is the Square Correlated Energy of theSignal, and A is a threshold constant based on tolerable false alarm andmiss rates for a given Signal to Noise ratio.

Once presence is detected, a series of correlations are performed usingevery sample rather than every fourth sample. In these correlations alocal replica of the filtered transmit waveform is used as the referencebecause this provides greater time resolution. The maximum correlation(C₁), the one preceding (C₀) and the one after it (C₂) are used in asecond order curve fit that will estimate where in continuous time thecorrelation maximum is likely to have occurred. This is probably not onany of the sampled points. Three correlations (C₀, C₁, C₂) are used inthe following equation to determine time to a finer resolution:$t = {\frac{C_{0} - C_{2}}{C_{0} - {2C_{1}} + C_{2}}*(0.5)}$

t is then treated as an offset to the peak correlation sample. Theoffset is loaded into the phase offset register of the NCO that controlsthe position of the polyphase filter bank in the resampler built intothe digital IF ASIC. The resampler provides time correction to aresolution of {fraction (1/128)} th of the input sample time. Signalpresence and symbol timing has now been achieved.

The next part of the preamble is pure carrier. The duration of the purecarrier is 1.66 ms. This is used to estimate the frequency offset of thesignal in order to compensate for it using a complex NCO/ mixer in thedigital IF ASIC.

The method of estimating the frequency of the pure carrier is asfollows. Phase samples are taken from the polar output of the Digital IFASIC and are input into a least squares linear regression curve fit toextract the coefficient a in the equation: ax+b=y where y are thereceived phase samples, x is time and a is the slope of the phase andtherefore the frequency offset of the signal. The coefficient b is notcomputed. Since the nominal carrier frequency of the signal is sentduring this phase of the preamble, the slope represents the differencein frequency between the transmitting and receiving radios. The slope ismultiplied by a conversion factor and loaded into the frequency offsetregister of the wideband NCO 164 or the narrowband NCO mixer in the IFASIC 24. The equations for the least squares linear curve fit have beenreworked so that they could be implemented by the very efficient FIRfilter commands available in the DSP. The standard form and the recastto FIR form are given below:${S(x)}:={{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{x}{1\quad {{Sxx}(x)}}}:={{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{x}{k^{2}\quad {{Sx}(x)}}}:={\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{x}k}}}$

 Δ(x):=S(x)·Sx(x)−Sx(x)

${{Sxy}(x)}:={{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{x}{{k \cdot y_{k}}\quad {{Sy}(x)}}}:={\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{x}y_{k}}}$

Slope Formula:$a:=\frac{{{S(x)} \cdot {{Sxy}(x)}} - {{{Sx}(x)} \cdot {{Sy}(x)}}}{\Delta (x)}$

Derivation of Slope Formula as FIR Coefficients:$a:={{\frac{S(x)}{\Delta (x)} \cdot {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{x}{k \cdot y_{k}}}} - {\frac{{Sx}(x)}{\Delta (x)} \cdot {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{x}y_{k}}}}$

 Δ(x)=S(x)·Sx(x)−Sx(x)

$a:={\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{x}{( {{k \cdot \frac{S(x)}{\Delta (x)}} - \frac{{Sx}(x)}{\Delta (x)}} ) \cdot y_{k}}}$

The values${k \cdot \frac{S(x)}{\Delta (x)}} - \frac{{Sx}(x)}{\Delta (x)}$

are the coefficients that are dotted with the phase samples to give thefrequency estimate.

In operation, the radio frequency system described herein is configuredin the FM mode of operation and the least square fit process 303 in theCDSP 32 (or ADSP 34) initially detects the presence of a signal from aknown signal pattern in the signal preamble of FIG. 14 and makes a firstcut of detecting signal presence and symbol timing correlation.Thereafter a series of three correlations are made and processed forfiner resolution and a phase or frequency offset signal is generated andapplied via line DR3 to either the wideband NCO '64 offset input or thenarrowband NCO 200 offset input. The IF ASIC 24 can be configured sothat the NCO 200 controls the position of a polyphase filter bankincluded in the re-sampler 202, which provides the time correction.Signal presence and symbol timing has now been achieved and the mode ofoperation now configured for the TCM mode.

A repetitive decoding process now takes place. The I and Q demodulateddigital signal output from the IF gain circuits 179I and 179Q of FIG. 9are converted into polar form by the Cartesian to polar converter 200 ofFIG. 8 and outputted via the CFPGA 30 (or AFPGA 36) to the CDSP 32 (orADSP 34) to store the polar samples in the polar sample storage 302 andinputed into the Polar Computation of Branch Metrics function 300 in theCFPGA 30 (or AFPGA 36). When the Polar Computation of Branch Metricsfunction is completed, the results are sent to the Efficient ModifiedViterby Algorithm function 306 (which has been processing the last groupof samples). The last iteration of samples being processed by theEfficient Modified Viterbi Algorithm 306 and the stored polar signalsfrom the polar sample storage 302 are applied to the TCM RevisitingAlgorithm function 304, which in turn completes the decoding process.When the processing of the TCM message is complete, the mode ofoperation is re-configured back to the FM mode.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, it is to be understood that the embodiments described areillustrative only and the scope of the invention is to be defined solelyby the appended claims when accorded a full range of equivalence, manyvariations and modifications naturally occurring to those of skill inthe art from a perusal hereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A radio frequency receiver system comprising: aradio frequency receiver for receiving radio frequency carrier signalsthat include trellis encoded modulated signals and demodulating thetrellis encoded modulated digital signals including MSBs and LSBs, anddigital processor means receiving the demodulated signals for decodingthe trellis encoded modulated signal by removing effects of the LSBsprior to making a decision of the MSBs, wherein the digital processorincludes: a Viterbi decoder including circuit means for generating afirst table containing a current symbol and a previous symbol to bringthe trellis to a given state, and for generating a second tablecontaining a current symbol, a previous symbol, and a symbol previous tothe previous symbol necessary to bring a trellis to a given state, andfor calculating a path metric for a received signal by indexing thevalues of the first and second tables into a branch metric decodingcalculation.
 2. A radio frequency receiver system of claim 1 wherein:the decoded bits include LSB data bit and a parity bit.
 3. A radiofrequency receiver system of claim 2 wherein: the trellis encodedmodulated signals are in PSK signaling form.
 4. A radio frequencyreceiver system of claim 3 wherein: the trellis encoded modulatedsignals are QAM signals.
 5. A radio frequency receiver systemcomprising: a radio frequency receiver for receiving radio frequencycarrier signals that include trellis encoded signals; an analog todigital converter for converting the received radio frequency signal todigital form; a digital demodulator circuit for demodulating the radiofrequency carrier digital signals to baseband trellis encoded signalsincluding coded and uncoded bits; digital processor means receiving thedemodulated digital signals for decoding by removing effects of thecoded bits prior to making a decision on the uncoded bits; and aconverter circuit for converting the output of the demodulator circuitto polar form, wherein: the digital processor includes a decoderincluding circuit means for generating a first table containing acurrent symbol and a previous symbol to bring a trellis to a givenstate, and for generating a second table containing a current symbol, aprevious symbol, and a symbol previous to the previous symbol necessaryto bring a trellis to a given state, and for calculating a path metricfor a received signal by indexing the values of the first and secondtables into a branch metric decoding calculation.
 6. A radio frequencyreceiver system comprising: a radio frequency receiver for receivingtrellis encoded modulated radio frequency signals and outputting trellisencoded intermediate frequency modulated digital signals; anintermediate frequency digital demodulator circuit for demodulating thetrellis encoded intermediate frequency modulated digital signals tobaseband trellis encoded digital signals; digital signal processor meansto convert the baseband trellis encoded signals to polar form forprocessing the signals with a decoder so as to reduce the complexity ofcomputations by allowing masking to be used instead of complex moduloarithmetic; wherein the baseband trellis encoded modulated digitalsignals include coded and uncoded bits, and the digital processor meansdecodes the signal by removing effects of the coded bits prior to makinga decision on the uncoded bits, and wherein: the digital processorincludes a decoder including circuit means for generating a first tablecontaining a current symbol and a previous symbol to bring a trellis toa given state, and for generating a second table containing a currentsymbol, a previous symbol, and a symbol previous to the previous symbolnecessary to bring a trellis to a given state, and for calculating apath metric for a received signal by indexing the values of the firstand second tables into a branch metric decoding calculation.
 7. A radiofrequency receiver system of claim 6 wherein: the coded bits are theLSBs and the uncoded bits are the MSBs.
 8. A radio frequency receiversystem of claim 7 wherein the digital processor means includes: a delaybuffer for receiving the trellis encoded modulated signal; circuit meansfor collapsing the constellation associated with the trellis encodedmodulated signals, decoding the collapsed constellation to obtain LSBs,and calculating the effects of LSBs on the trellis encoded modulatedsignal, and circuit means for removing effects of the LSBs from theoutput of the delay buffer and decoding the MSBs of the delayed signal.9. A field configurable radio frequency receiver system comprising: aradio frequency receiver for receiving radio frequency digital modulatedsignals having a preamble portion and a data portion, being configurablefor plural receiver modes of operation, and signal detection circuitmeans for enabling the radio frequency receiver to be configured for anFM mode of operation for monitoring the preamble portion for detecting apresence of a digital signal and for achieving symbol timing and uponthe detection of the presence of the digital signal, and upon achievingsymbol timing for enabling a configuration of the radio frequencyreceiver to process the digital signals, wherein the preamble portionincludes a symbol section and a carrier section, the radio frequencyreceiver includes a configurable demodulator circuit having acontrollable numerical oscillator, and the signal detection meansgenerates an offset signal from the carrier section and applies theoffset signal to control the numerical controlled oscillator, where thedigital signals are TCM signals having a data portion that includescoded and uncoded bits, and a TCM decoder circuit means, uponconfiguration to the TCM mode of operation, receives the demodulateddigital signals for decoding the TCM signals by removing effects of thecoded bits prior to making the decision on the uncoded bits, and wherethe coded bits are the LSBs and the uncoded bits are the MSBs; includinga converter circuit for converting the output of the demodulator topolar form; and wherein the decoder circuit means includes circuit meansfor generating a first table containing a current symbol and a previoussymbol to bring the trellis to a given state, and for generating asecond table containing a current symbol, a previous symbol, and asymbol previous to the previous symbol necessary to bring a trellis to agiven state, and for calculating the path metric for a received signalby indexing the values of the first and second tables into the branchmetric decoding calculation.
 10. A radio frequency receiver systemcomprising: a radio frequency receiver for receiving trellis encodedmodulated radio frequency signals and outputting trellis encodedintermediate frequency modulated digital signals; an intermediatefrequency digital demodulator circuit for demodulating the trellisencoded intermediate frequency modulated digital signals to basebandtrellis encoded digital signals; digital signal processor means toconvert the baseband trellis encoded signals to polar form forprocessing the signals with a decoder so as to reduce the complexity ofcomputations by allowing masking to be used instead of complex moduloarithmetic wherein: the digital processor includes a decoder includingcircuit means for generating a first table containing a current symboland a previous symbol to bring a trellis to a given state, and forgenerating a second table containing a current symbol, a previoussymbol, and a symbol previous to the previous symbol necessary to bringa trellis to a given state, and for calculating a path metric for areceived signal by indexing the values of the first and second tablesinto a branch metric decoding calculation.
 11. A field configurableradio frequency receiver system comprising: a radio frequency receiverfor receiving radio frequency digital modulated signals having apreamble portion and a data portion, being configurable for pluralreceiver modes of operation, and signal detection circuit means forenabling the radio frequency receiver to be configured for an FM mode ofoperation for monitoring the preamble portion for detecting a presenceof a digital signal and for achieving symbol timing and upon thedetection of the presence of the digital signal, and upon achievingsymbol timing for enabling a configuration of the radio frequencyreceiver to process the digital signals, wherein the preamble portionincludes a symbol section and a carrier section, the radio frequencyreceiver includes a configurable demodulator circuit having acontrollable numerical oscillator, and the signal detection meansgenerates an offset signal from the carrier section and applies theoffset signal to control the numerical controlled oscillator, where thedigital signals are TCM signals having a data portion that includescoded and uncoded bits, and a TCM decoder circuit means, uponconfiguration to the TCM mode of operation, receives the demodulateddigital signals for decoding the TCM signals by removing effects of thecoded bits prior to making the decision on the uncoded bits wherein: thedecoder circuit means for generating a first table containing a currentsymbol and a previous symbol to bring to bring a trellis to a givenstate, and for generating a second table containing a current symbol, aprevious symbol, and a symbol previous to the previous symbol necessaryto bring a trellis to a given state, and for calculating a path metricfor a received signal by indexing the values of the first and secondtables into a branch metric decoding calculation.